Asheboro's Fall Festival: Third Person Review

I was home this weekend.

This was the first year in quite some time I did not go to Asheboro's Fall Festival. After breakfast at Jed's, with one of the Yas and her Mother/family, then running some errands (including picking up the treat-for-me of a lifetime at the PO - purchased through EBay - which I cannot blog about because it's just too special), I met an old-friend-I-had-not-seen-for-ages in Greensboro at McAlister's. We talked for hours . . . over the world's greatest iced tea (and deli treats). It was glorious.

Then I went shopping (something for which a young salesman on commission at "The Shoe Market" is very, very grateful). Fulfilling my duty as an eccentric Auntie, I picked up some goodies at Bon Bebe for Miss Abigail (they were having a !HALF-OFF SALE! on all the clothing in the store). Then I browsed at Four Seasons and Borders.

Beer garden or no beer garden, I did just not feel like going to the festival (there was no beer garden). But the YaYas were all in . . . and my sister-in-law came down with Miss Abigail to walk it with my Mom . . . so I did get feedback.

I'm going to stick my neck out and offer it here.

Here's the consensus of all who went (which does not exactly jive with the review given by the Courier Tribune) . . . comparing the experience to that of years past: not well attended, multiple booths missing or gone (i.e. a lot of empty spaces), a scarcity of real art & craft (as opposed to "made in China" craft), and too much food.

The terms, "food court extraordinaire" and "junkorama" were used.

Don't get me wrong, there were nice things to be found, and a pleasant-enough time was had by those who went, but it was not the Fall Festival of old. I got no phone calls to drop everything I was doing and come see this beautiful/unique pot . . . or that artsy piece. The people who went did not linger.

Everyone commented that they wish the event would scale down a bit and be more selective with regards to arts and crafts . . . get back to the original themes & focus of old. But we all know that won't happen.

If there's money to be made . . .

I asked one of the Yas (a die-hard Obama supporter), to get me a McCain-Palin sticker at the Republican campaign booth. It apparently became a comedy of errors getting the thing home - while trying to hold it/hide the offensive sticker as if it were "unclean". It's so wrinkled, I'm not sure it's worth putting on the car.

Of course, at this point, my poor/misguided Ya would have a comment to make about McCain being too wrinkled to lead. We avoid discussions of politics (as opposed to issues - which are fair game) during our gatherings of the Ya . . . as the political make-up of our group is just like the country . . . blue, red and purple (undecided).

The purple is an inside joke;)

It was a good day. Good for me because I did not invest so much of myself and my day-off in a town that left its small town values at the back door so it could treat me like crap.

This third person - always the odd woman out - felt liberated.

The Yas predict there will be a beer garden next year. Nothing is sacred anymore.